Hear the story behind the opera. Join us at the Arts Centre 45 minutes before this performance, when a member of Opera Australia's artistic team will share their insights into the opera. Held in the Stalls Foyer near Door 2 of the State Theatre, this informal, informative talk will help you to get the most out of your opera experience.

This is an audio described performance for those with vision impairments. Audio-described bookings can only be made through Opera Australia by calling the Box Office in Sydney on 02 9318 8200, Melbourne on 03 9685 3700 or by emailing ticketing@opera.org.au

Hear the story behind the opera. Join us at the Arts Centre 45 minutes before this performance, when a member of Opera Australia's artistic team will share their insights into the opera. Held in the Stalls Foyer near Door 2 of the State Theatre, this informal, informative talk will help you to get the most out of your opera experience.

Can a heart love without doubt?
Can you trust the happiness that comes through faith alone?

Elsa stands accused of a horrible crime. She prays for a champion, and a noble
knight appears. But his help comes with a condition: she must never ask his name.
Does true love demand blind faith?

Lohengrin is a fantastical romance. It’s filled with shimmering
string passages and angelic choruses, including the famous Bridal March. Wagner described
his music as “streams of gold, ravishing the senses of the beholder.”

Johannes Fritzsch conducts a stunning cast. Jennifer Davis is Elsa, while Elena
Gabouri sings the conniving Ortrud. Alexander Krasnov performs as Telramund, and David
Butt Philip makes his Australian debut as the noble Lohengrin.

Director Olivier Py sets this battle between good and evil in the ruins of Berlin
in the aftermath of World War II. A monumental revolving tiered set depicts a decaying
theatre, where emblems of German Romanticism gather dust.

The result is a “thoughtful and audacious piece of theatre.” —
Opera Traveller

Act I

On the banks of the river Scheldt a herald announces Heinrich, King of Germany,
who asks Count Telramund to explain why Brabant is torn by strife and disorder. Telramund
accuses his ward, Elsa, of murdering her brother, Gottfried, heir to Brabant’s
Christian dynasty.

Gottfried was actually enchanted by the evil Ortrud, whom Telramund has wed. When
Elsa is called to defend herself, she relates a dream of a knight in shining armour
who will come to save her. The herald calls for the defender, but only when Elsa prays
does the knight appear, magically drawn in a boat by a swan. He betrothes himself
to her on condition that she never ask his name or origin. Defeating Telramund in
combat, the newcomer establishes the innocence of his bride.

Act II

Before dawn, Ortrud and the lamenting Telramund swear vengeance. Elsa appears on
a balcony, and Ortrud attempts to sow distrust in the girl’s mind, preying on
her curiosity, but Elsa calmly offers Ortrud friendship. Inside, while the victorious
knight is proclaimed guardian of Brabant, the banned Telramund furtively enlists four
noblemen to side with him against his newfound rival.

At the cathedral entrance, Ortrud and Telramund attempt to break up the wedding
— she by suggesting that the unknown knight is in fact an impostor, he
by accusing Elsa’s bridegroom of sorcery. The crowd stirs uneasily. Though troubled
by doubt, Elsa reiterates her faith in the knight before they enter the church, accompanied
by Heinrich.

Act III

Elsa and her husband, alone in the bridal chamber, express their love. Anxiety
and uncertainty at last compel Elsa to ask the groom who he is and from where he has
come. Before he can reply, Telramund and his henchmen burst in. With a cry Elsa hands
the knight his sword, with which he kills Telramund. Ordering the nobles to bear the
body to the King, he sadly tells Elsa that he will reveal his identity before the
King and the people.

The King and the army assemble at the Scheldt. The distraught Elsa and her attendants
arrive. Lohengrin tells the King he cannot now lead the army against the Hungarian
invaders. He explains that his home is the temple of the Holy Grail at distant Monsalvat,
to which he must now return; Parsifal is his father; Lonhengrin his name. The swan
appears and Lohengin prepares to depart. Ortrud rushes in, jubilant over Elsa’s
betrayal of the man who couId have broken the spell that transformed her brother into
a swan. But Lohengrin’s prayers bring forth Gottfried in place of his vanished
swan, and after naming Gottfried ruIer of Brabant, Lohengrin disappears. Ortrud collapses,
and Elsa, calling for her lost husband, falls lifeless to the ground.